Culver mourns loss of four 1

Ashland Daily Tidings (Ashland, OR — Wayback)

2002-02-21

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--> --> Associated Press Family, friends and fellow students of siblings Jason, Tina and Devin Roe console each other in front of picture boards placed in memory of the children Thursday at Culver High School. Culver mourns loss of four CULVER (AP) - A grieving farming community came together Thursday afternoon to say farewell to a mother and three children killed in a car-train collision last week. More than 1,000 people - a crowd bigger than Culver's population of about 850 - packed the Culver High School gymnasium. The public memorial service included music, dance, prayers and memories of Sandy Lee Roe, 32; her daughter, Tina, 14; and sons Jason, 15, and Devin, 6, all killed on the morning of Dec. 5 when their car skidded on an icy road into a freight train on the way to school. One of the first rescuers at the scene of the badly mangled car was the family's husband and father, Steve Roe, a 10-year volunteer and captain with Jefferson County Rural Fire Protection District No. 1. One son, Ethan, 10, was the lone survivor of the crash. Offers of support and assistance came from across the state and as far away as San Francisco, where firefighters offered to send a crew to fill in while Culver personnel attended the services. Firefighters and paramedics came from as far away as Silverton to attend the memorial. Four large photos of the dead family members stood on the stage, surrounded by flowers, while dozens of cards and messages were posted in the hallway outside the gym. People in the crowd sniffed back tears as Pastors Lee McCloud and Jerry Roberts of the New Hope Church in Madras recalled a close family that attended church and volunteered in the community. Tina, a freshmen at Culver High who was involved in dance, was remembered by a group of young women from the High Desert Dance Arts school in Madras who performed to the country tune "Butterfly Kisses." While Tina aspired to be "a dancing, veterinarian photographer," McCloud said, Devin "wanted to be a fireman, just like his dad, when he grew up." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing